The city of Tempe, Arizona decided to install 1,000 induction street lights after observed that LED-based solid state lighting is not suitable for extreme desert temperatures.
They start the phase of street light retrofit initiative.
“After evaluating the two leading street lighting platforms of induction and light emitting diode, or LED, Tempe ruled out LED for its high equipment cost and performance volatility in the temperature extremes of the southern Arizona environment.”
Similar issues of street light failure after two months of LED installation were happened in the city of Columbus, Ohio. On the other hand most other municipalities have had positive experience with LED and induction light which is well known that produce 20% energy savings. A retrofit initiative in Dublin, Ohio of 1,500 street lights with LED-based lights reduced energy by 40-50% and cut costs by $500,000.
Until now remains unclear as to whether or not the performance of LED based lights are affected by desert. Their lowest initial cost of induction lighting make them attractive for replacing the current high pressure sodium or metal halide street light sources.
Finally, through this opportunity, the city of Tempe will reduce the energy required to power the lights by 40% and will offer an increased energy savings for the city.
